School's out for spring break! The pod team is resting and recharging this month, so we're bringing you one of our favorites from earlier this season. We'll be back with new episodes in two weeks.

Welcome to Season 3! It’s finally time to tackle the oldest and most famous MFA of them all: the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. On this episode, Steven Duong and Jared discuss whether Iowa lives up to its competitive stereotype, the challenges and freedoms of playing with writing conventions and constraints, and why he—a long-time poet—decided to pursue a fiction degree.

Steven Duong is a writer from San Diego, California. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the Watson Foundation, and the University of Iowa, and his poems, stories, and essays can be found in publications including The New England Review, The American Poetry Review, and Guernica. He is a current second-year MFA candidate in fiction at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Find him at his website stevenduongwrites.com and on Twitter @boneless_koi.

This episode was requested by Tammy Breitweiser, Esty Downes, and April Ahmed. Thank you all for listening!

MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com.

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